Gimbarish
Gimbarish, known in ancient times as Redjetesh, is a nation located at the centre-north of the continent of Palkyras. It is surrounded by Sulgobur and Arvora to the northwest; the Tornarin Empire to the west; Bivos to the southwest; Vozolaz to the south; Iral, Iruwasa, and Siangwaan to the southeast; the Dunomin Ocean to the east; Uvjora and Heronoja to the northeast; and Paltirion with its many neighbouring republics to the north. Its capital is the dusty metropolis of Gimbarish City, which is located at its southern parts along the Iaro River (Baval Olhi in Vozolaz). Flag The National Flag of Gimbarish is a green rectangular banner with a yellow emblem in the middle, the Deẃ Jatin (Rē), which means "Hands of God (of the Bright Sun)". The green background symbolises life, and the religious-cultural emblem symbolises God having the endless power ("nine symbolises endlessness", c.f. Nordic and Daizhouvian culture) to maintain, oversee, and bless all of His creations, or His eternal protection over life itself. Geography Gimbarish occupies a large sand desert located at the centre of the continent. To its west lie dozens of mountain ranges that extend southward, where lush forests descend to the arid lowlands as they follow the eastward streams; and a series of cool, forested mountains to the east complete their resulting rain shadow, while also having their share of tributaries that feed the central Iaro River. While the wetlands along the Iaro River provide fertile soil for much of Gimbarish's crops, people also grow crops along the western hills. Beyond the eastern ranges, the lands along Gimbarish's seacoast enjoy a cool, breezy temperate climate. Politics Gimbarish is a republic, headed by a President and a Vice President. Military Gimbarish is protected by its Republican Guard, which amasses an armoury of flying vehicles to quickly navigate across the desert. Currently, the Gimbarsian government is developing its own advanced machinery, using technology gathered from the Green Pyramid, foreign imports, or a combination of both. Economy Gimbarish is a developing country, and its economy consisted mostly of mining, agriculture (especially in wheat, barley, and wool), fishing, and forging glass from the sands of its desert. Culture Soccer, sand hockey, dunesurfing, and racing are popular sports in Gimbarish. Gimbarsian people are noted for their penchant for coffee, reading newspapers, and their love of crossword puzzles. Many Gimbarsians are amused by foreign depictions of their country as "overridden with mummies and the undead". They answer these with parodic works that have said mummies being cursed corpses that can be defeated by strong faith in Aten or bullets doused with antibiotics, or as ravenous victims infected and driven by a severe disease. Religion Gimbarish is notable for its monotheist religion, which was founded thousands of years ago by the charismatic emperor Akhenaten; it is therefore one of a handful of monotheist nations in a polytheist world, alongside its neighbour and ally Bivos, and the distant realms of Kalambour, Zarijana, and the Greyfolk nation of Qogandra. It is centred around the compassionate solar deity Aten (also known as "Jatin"), whom His worshippers believe to be the sole existing God, and the creator and ruler of all existence. Although Aten is commonly depicted either as a disk with arms, or sometimes as endless light, Gimbarsians never use images to worship Him, as it is considered it to be worshipping the image instead of God. Aten is usually worshipped with prayers, hymns, and offerings of incense. Historically, Gimbarsians used to worship the emperor Akhenaten as a representative of their God, and they used to practice superstitions such as being afraid of the night. As later worshippers focused more on the infinity of Aten, they no longer feared nighttime (but embraced it as "one of Aten's best creations", like outer space, the stars, and the Moon) and they no longer worshipped their emperors. However, they sometimes swear to Me'e(t), a former goddess that now symbolises righteousness and Aten's laws over all of Creation. The souls of believers were said to go to the City of Light with Aten after death. Unbelievers' souls were said to wander endlessly in "the void between Creation", while evildoers were said to be consumed by Chaos. Unlike most people on Jerde who practice cremation, Gimbarsian Atenists prefer to bury their dead, only cremating whenever there is a plague or there is not enough land to mark graves. Religious fanaticism, extremism, racism, vulgarity, mob violence, brawling (although in television and video games it is allowed), and sexism are rejected among Atenists, as those go against their belief in "doing no harm" and "ensuring justice and honour". The resulting attitude made those same believers to become more disciplined, rational, and merciful to anyone of any race -- even towards non-humans such as the despised Ontemazei and hybrids -- but merciless towards foes that were considered as "cruel" or "warmongers", such as the armies and rulers of the Thralondian Empire, and the raiders of Mirukuz. Many Gimbarsians also refuse alcohol for its ability to misdirect its drinkers' minds, smoking for harming the lungs, and pork out of their cultural traditions; although those three are not necessarily forbidden in their religion. Freedom of religion is a protected right in Gimbarish's constitution, and atheists are tolerated in its society. Trivia * Gimbarish was inspired largely by ancient Egypt, and modern Egypt during the 1890s (such as during the setting of the 1999 film The Mummy) to the 1950s. It was also based on two alternate-history scenarios: "What if ancient Egypt survived into the Renaissance?", and "What if Atenism survived?" ** The depiction of "Atenism" in the Rabydosverse is based on the teachings of "Orthodox Atenism" and Christianity: it is considered as an equivalent of Christianity for its monotheism (like Zoroastrianism) and its focus on benevolence and love. In fact, this comparison also resulted in "Aten's Crusaders", knights on bikes and skimmers that guarded Gimbarish's remnants until the defeat and expulsion of its Thralondian governor. * Gimbarish was one of the author's earliest ideas for the Rabydosverse during its early years (late 2015), to poke fun at the fanmade video series Pooh's Adventures. In the earlier drafts, "Gimbarish" was a fictional mountain in Egypt where time-travellers in a train battled bandits riding on horses. ** "Gimbarish" was based on the words "Jebel" (Arabic for "mountain"), the word "gibberish", and the Black Speech term "gimbatul" (meaning "find them"). Category:Rabydosverse Category:Peculiar Rabydosverse countries